Memorable Mints

Here’s an idea to ease your stress and give you a stronger sense of accomplishment.

Fed up with Washington, Wall Street, etc. fill-in-the-blank. Frustrated in working too hard for too little. Angry at losing your job like 14 million other Americans. And just plain mad as hell and you are not going to take it anymore. Oh yeah, I feel your pain. So do plenty of others in these tough economic times. When I feel this depressed, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

So I just smile and take a deep breath as I vicariously run after so many soap bubbles on a beautiful spring day with my then 18-month-old grandson. Come run with me –and my grandson– for just a minute.

Take a look at this photo (right) that I took of Jayden a bright spring day. Every time I see this photo of Jayden’s gap-toothed smile, I smile too. Chances are Jayden’s smile will make you smile too.

That photo of Jayden bubbling with his infectious smile hangs prominently in my home office like a pixel potion of leadership thinking. Jayden’s smile helps me to reframe and refocus on what really matters. In fact, when I look at his photo my confidence in the present, and my hope for the future is restored no matter how bad I was feeling before.

And my sense of personal leadership is revived, especially when I savor the personal and poignant words of a famed essayist that I have framed adjacent to Jayden’s photo. The essayist posits a definition of success that I think speaks to every leaders’ heart and soul of making a difference Maybe these words –attributed to essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson or Bessie Stanley — will comfort you as much as they do me –and make you feel richer and more successful that you ever thought — no matter what’s happening in Washington or on Wall Street.

TO LEAVE THE WORLD A BIT BETTER

To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children.
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends,
To appreciate beauty,
To find the best in others To leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch or a redeemed condition.
To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

May you and yours enjoy a very happy Thanksgiving. I am looking forward to serving you your next Leadership Mint on Monday November 28